If summer is the season fairies ride
upon the sculpted backs of snowy swans,
and tadpoles midst the lilac lilies hide
from raccoons who are hunting in their ponds,
then autumn is the time when fairies glide
above a world of copper, gold and bronze
while birds who seek sun's warmth fly from the nest
and raccoons first prepare for winter's rest.
The colors of the world may shift in shade
as maize and crimson leaves drift through the air,
but nothing in this motley masquerade
gives reason for one moment of despair,
for tawny ocher garbs of fairy maids,
just like the russet raiments fall trees wear,
don't signify dread death will claim the earth,
but celebrate life's cycle of rebirth.
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Author Notes
The ottava rima is a poem in 8 line stanzas, with each line consisting of 10 syllables in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is abababcc dededeff. This Italian form is centuries old and has long been used in English poetry, such as Lord Byron's Don Juan.
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